Rejected Dem not giving up on governor’s race

AUSTIN — Houston mortgage banker and community activist Demetria Smith, who state Democratic Party officials bumped from the primary ballot this month over a bounced check for her filing fee, said Wednesday she still is running for governor as a Democrat.

Smith, 44, said she is challenging the party’s decision to declare her ineligible and remove her name from the March 6 primary ballot as violating state law.

Although she’s off the ballot as of now, Smith said she is continuing her campaign and plans to participate in several upcoming political forums, including one in Houston on Jan. 24.

“I filed in Dec. 11, and if they were going to declare me ineligible, they had five days under the law to notify me of that,” she said. “They missed the deadline.

“I know the law ... and I’m going to fight this,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Houston native was declared ineligible for the election after the Texas Democratic Party said the check she submitted to pay the filing fee bounced, according to party officials.

Smith initially was listed as eligible after the Dec. 11 filing deadline after she paid the $3,750 filing fee with a personal check. Democratic Party officials, however, said her check came back from the bank, making her ineligible.

She was one of 10 Democrats who filed to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s re-election bid.

“This is a simple statutory requirement,” Glen Maxey, primary director for the party, said at the time Smith was declared ineligible. “We have no wiggle room but to declare a candidate ineligible.”

Maxey said Smith has so far struck out in legal efforts to have her name restored to the ballot. The party’s website lists her as “rejected,” instead of the earlier listing of “ineligible.’

Smith, who has never held elective office, has complained she was not given the opportunity to fix the problem with the check. “I had money in my account,” she said Wednesday.

She participated in a San Angelo forum on Jan. 8 among the Democrats hoping to win the Democratic primary.

The upcoming Harris County Democratic Party event lists nine gubernatorial candidates who will attend. Smith is not on the list.

Nine candidates are listed as official candidates for the March 6 primary: Austin businessman James Jolly Clark, former Balch Springs Mayor Cedric Davis, Sr.,Houston businessman Joe Mumbach, Flower Mound financial planner Adrian Ocegueda, Dallas businessman Jeffrey Payne, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, San Antonio businessman Tom Wakely, Houston entrepreneur Andrew White and retired Flint educator Grady Yarbrough.